July 1, 2016

Monica Lewis is going into the fifth grade this fall, but
just after school ended, she did something that made her stand out from all of
her peers by cutting off eight inches of her hair to donate to Pantene’s
Beautiful Lengths program. The program takes the donated hair and makes wigs for those who don’t have
hair.

“I did this because someone who doesn’t have hair wants
hair, so they can be like other people,” she said. “I wanted to grow my hair,
but me and Mommy talked about donating it.” The discussion started six months
ago and it was decided that Monica would keep growing her hair so she could
donate eight inches, minimum. Monica had her hair cut at Eclipse Hair Salon in
Portland by a family friend last week.

“I’m very happy with it. I still wanted some length,” she
said, of her shoulder length cut.

Monica is the daughter of Nicole and Brandon Lewis of
Windham.

“Mom said my hair will grow back and it might go to
someone whose hair won’t grow back,” said Monica.

Nicole and Monica did research on the different companies
who accept hair donations and they were happy with their decision to go with
Pantene.

Pantene’s website discusses the program. “We know how
important the appearance of strong, healthy hair is. For women battling cancer,
the appearance of strong, healthy hair is even more important. That’s why we
created Pantene Beautiful Lengths, the only program to help women feel like
themselves again with free, real-hair wigs. So when you donate 8 inches of hair
or $8 dollars to the cause, you’re helping to make sure that happens."

To date the program has had more than 800,000 ponytails
donated. “Our goal is simple. We want to make it possible for women
everywhere to share their hair with women who’ve lost theirs. It’s also why
we’ve partnered with the American Cancer Society® to make and
distribute the wigs.”

Nine-year-old Monica is involved in cheerleading and Girl
Scouts. She enjoys swimming and drawing.

“One of my friends is going to do it in the summer,”
Monica said. She didn’t plan to become a trendsetter among her friends, but
she’s glad to set the example. She has already asked to grow her hair out again
to donate.